Analog access lines in communications networks often suffer from impairments such as attenuation, near-end-crosstalk, far-end-crosstalk, impulse noise, electromagnetic interference, poor connections due to oxidation and a condition commonly referred to as “water-on-the-line.” Examples of such analog access lines include cable, DSL, VDSL, wireless and even optical fiber all carry digital data over analog signals. The large majority of contemporary communication systems use analog transmission. A good many of these impairments are intermittent, present one minute and gone the next, making them difficult to verify and/or diagnose. Nonetheless, even intermittent problems with service can create unhappy customers.
Currently, diagnosis or repair of water-on-the-line or other intermittent conditions are only addressed by access providers in response to customer complaints. This requires sending a technicians with their equipment (truck rolls) to the site to diagnose and hopefully repair the problem. Such techniques are expensive and only identify the problem after a customer has made the effort to complain. Some dissatisfied customers, rather than complain, look for an alternative service provider.
There is therefore a need for a method, system and/or medium for identifying analog access line impairments, which is inexpensive and can be run proactively in order to further customer satisfaction. Such a method, system and/or medium preferably can be executed remotely and avoids dispatching truck rolls to initially diagnose the problem.